Road grading stake marker



Jan. 11, 1955 Jfe. FISHER ROAD GRADING STAKE MARKER Filed Jan. 11, 1954 INVENTOR: J G. FISHER,

United States Patent ROAD GRADING STAKE MARKER John G. Fisher, Yuma, Ariz.

Application January 11, 1954, Serial No. 403,276

2 Claims. (Cl. 116-114) This invention relates to road grading equipment and has particular reference to improvements in indicating devices for such equipment.

Road grading is commonly done by placing stakes along the edge of a roadway to be graded and to place on these stakes markers to indicate to the operator of a grading machine the amount of cut or fill required at the places where the stakes are located.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a stake marker which is convenient to mount on such stakes. It is a further object to provide a stake marker which is so simple and inexpensive that it may be thrown away when the grading operation is completed. Another object is to provide a marker the entire surface of which is coated with a luminous substance capable of reflecting the ray of light from the cap of the grading operator as the machine approaches the stake from either direction.

With these and other objects in view the invention resides in the combinations hereinafter fully described and a drawing is hereto annexed in which a preferred form of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 illustrates a portion of a roadway to be graded and stakes mounted therealong to indicate the extent of grading required;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the upper part of one of the stakes with the device of the invention mounted in position thereon;

Fig. 3 is a substantially corresponding plan view showing the stake and marker tilted to one side; and

Fig. 4 illustrates the marker of the invention as it appears before it is mounted on the stake.

The device of the invention consists of a single strip of material 1 which, as shown in Fig. 4, is bent to form a loop 2 from which one end portion 3 extends parallel with the body portion of the strip. The other end 4 of the strip extends a distance beyond the end portion 3.

Each stake is preferably rectangular in cross-section and of a width and thickness fittingly to receive thereon the marker. Two of these stakes 10, 10 are set along the edge of the roadway to be graded about one hundred feet apart in a leveled piece of ground, as indicated at A in Fig. 1. Each stake may be graduated, as indicated at 11, for the guidance of the operator setting the stakes and a marker 1 is placed on each stake at the graduation 12, two feet above the ground. Another stake is then set in the ground a long distance from and in vertical alinement with the first two stakes and the operator stoops down and by sight places a marker on this stake in horizontal alinement with the first two stakes. The intermediate stakes are thereupon all set with the twofoot graduation 12 two feet above the surface, as indicated in Fig. 1 whereupon one of the markers of the invention is by another operator placed on each intermediate stake along the line of sight, as directed by the operator doing the sighting. The distance from the marker to the line of sight then indicates the amount of cut or fill which is required at each intermediate stake.

The marker, as shown in Fig. 3, is pushed sidewise on to the stake whereupon the projecting end portion 4 thereof may be bent as indicated in Fig. 2, to form the completed marker or clip. When the material of the clip is of the proper thickness and resilience to exert suflicient pressure to clamp the marker in position on the stake, it is found that the clip will remain firmly in position on the stake during the grading operations. But the end portion 4 may, if found preferable, be left unbent or it may be bent as shown in Fig. 3.

The strip of material is before it is bent as above described, or at least before it is ready for use, at 15 shown coated with a luminous substance to reflect the rays of light from the head lamp worn by the machine operator. When so coated, it is found that the marker, or clip, will be clearly visible to the operator when it is found necessary to set the stakes after dark as well as by the machine operator in any position assumed by the machine at night during the advance movements thereof in either direction and at any distance away from the stakes.

It is seen from the foregoing description that I have provided a very simple grading marker which is convenient to mount in position on the stakes along the line of sight and which is so inexpensive that it may be thrown away after use. But while I have herein described a preferred form of the invention, I do not thereby intend to be limited to the sizes, shapes and proportions exactly as outlined but reserve the right to embody modifications therein within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

I claim:

1. A marker mountable on a rectangular road grading post having elevation indicating graduations thereon, said marker consisting of a strip of resilient material one end of which is folded parallel with the body of the strip at a distance therefrom less than the thickness of the post, the surfaces of the strip being coated with a luminous substance, the folded strip being transversely pushed into position on the post in registration with any one of the graduations thereof to cause the opposite end thereof to project laterally from the edge of the post, the projecting end being tightly bent over the edge of the post to project therefrom at right angles to the surface of the post thereby to clamp the marker firmly in position on the post.

2. A marker mountable on a rectangular road grading post, said marker consisting of a strip of resilient material one end of which is folded to form an outwardly and inwardly curved loop from which the end of the strip extends parallel with the body of the strip at a distance therefrom less than the thickness of the post, the surfaces of the strip being coated with a luminous substance, the folded strip being transversely pushed into position on the post to cause the opposite end thereof to project laterally from the edge of the post, the projecting end being tightly bent over the edge of the post to project therefrom at right angles to the surface of the post thereby to clamp the marker firmly in position on the post.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 419,711 Rodgers Jan. 21, 1890 1,793,520 Siptrott Feb. 24, 1931 1,876,464 Miller Sept. 6, 1932 2,610,548 Isenberg Sept. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 55,519 Denmark Nov. 28, 1938 

